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Photo Gallery: Oceans

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Ancient Stromatolite Reefs

Photograph by O. Louis Mazzatenta

Microbe-rich stromatolite reefs, like this one in Shark Bay, Australia, were among the first sources of oxygen on Earth. They flourished throughout the planet's shallow waters 3.5 billion years ago, but are extremely rare today.

Tierra del Fuego, Cape Horn, Chile

Photograph by Gordon Wiltsie

Surf froths around Cape Horn in Chile's Tierra del Fuego. This archipelago, which means "land of fire" in Spanish, is the meeting point of the world's two largest oceans, the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Underwater Cayman Islands

Photograph by William R. Curtsinger

Light refracts through the calm, clear waters of the Cayman Islands. These islands are actually the peaks of the Cayman Trough, the Caribbean Sea's deepest trench.

Southern Ocean

Photograph by Maria Stenzel

Roiled seas and big waves characterize the frigid waters around Antarctica. Most of the surface of Antarctica is harsh and barren, but the waters that surround it bustle with specially adapted plants and animals.

Island Coastline, Republic of Palau

Photograph by Paul Chesley

A cloak of mist drapes a large wave as it breaks near shore on one of the islands of the Republic of Palau.

Australian Seashore, Kalbarri

Photograph by Bill Ellzey

Waves at high tide crash on shore near Kalbarri National Park in Western Australia. Ocean tides are created by the gravitational effects of the moon and sun on the Earth. When the moon is full or new, attraction is high, and the oceans bulge outward, creating spring tides.

Moonrise Over an Iceberg

Photograph by Maria Stenzel

A massive iceberg juts from the stark expanse of an ice sheet as an orange moon looks on in the Bellingshausen Sea near Antarctica. This sea, part of the Southern Ocean, borders the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, near South America, and is home to elephant seals and Adélie penguins.

Engage, Conserve, Restore

The National Geographic Society’s freshwater initiative is a multi-year global effort to inspire and empower individuals and communities to conserve freshwater and preserve the extraordinary diversity of life that rivers, lakes, and wetlands sustain.